TEARS IN THE RAIN
by deetatarant
Summary: All those moments will be lost, like tears in the rain"......Follows on from "The Damned Don't Cry".... Ianto, Rhys and Andy try to survive 'that year'.
1. Chapter 1

**TEARS IN THE RAIN**

Ianto ran out on to the Plas and then stood frozen his arms outstretched at his sides. He tilted his head to the sky and let the freezing rain run over his face, drowning his tears of anger and frustration. He had never felt such desolation before in all the things that he had been through, Jack running away was the one thing he hadn't truly believed would happen. They would be helpless without him, even more broken than they were now, or maybe it was just him. Jack had told him he would go and whenever and where ever the Doctor appeared all kinds of trouble would surely follow. The sickening foreboding in his gut threatened to consume him with the realisation that Jack had taken a part of his soul away with him. Ianto had felt the snapping disconnection like a physical blow, had almost dropped the tray of coffees. What had Jack done to him? He screamed at the sky as his anger finally enveloped him fully. Passersby skirted away throwing disturbed glances in his direction as he continued to rant heavenwards, cursing himself and Jack in equal measure.

Tosh, Owen and Gwen found him there, soaked through and bedraggled on his knees in the puddles of cold rain his face buried in his hands. The three of them gathered round their youngest team mate and Owen and Tosh gripped his arms and hauled him to his feet.

"Come on mate, lets get you inside, you must be freezing." Owen chided gently. "Daft Tea Boy, you'll end up with another dose of pneumonia, come on."

Ianto allowed himself to be propelled back into the tourist office and Gwen made sure that the door was locked up behind them as they made their way back down to the Hub. Ianto was shivering by the time they had reached the autopsy bay and he watched through unfocussed eyes as his colleagues got him out of his wet clothes and into some dry ones. He was quiet and compliant, neither helping or hindering and Ianto was content to shut down and not think and feel about anything anymore.

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He had no recollection of the breakdown. The others described to him, the following day, how he had reacted to the news of Jack's desertion. Owen was calling it a desertion, Gwen and Tosh stuck with departure. Ianto thanked them in quiet tones for their concern and kindness and decided to return to his duties as if nothing had happened.

The others argued about what to do, who to take charge and whether or not to close down Torchwood Cardiff altogether and Ianto listened and worked until one day after a particularly loud debate between Owen and Gwen he'd had enough. Ianto stopped mid way through placing a tray of coffees on the boardroom table and turned to look at his colleagues. He was angry still, unbelievably so but the look on his face made every one stop and look at him. Ianto settled the tray down.

"It doesn't matter about Jack. He's gone. We still have a Rift to guard and weevils to keep off the streets. Jack isn't coming back. I know he held us all together, God knows how, when I think about what a shit leader he actually was. Owen you're still a doctor with the same skills you had last week, Tosh is still our Techie whiz and I am still the general support dogs body. That leaves you Gwen, you liase and you direct, the decisions of importance we make collectively and we GET ON. I refuse to give up on Torchwood just because Jack has."

He stepped back folding his arms across his chest and huffed out an embarrassed breath.

"We can do this, we can."

Still no one spoke and Ianto found himself shifting his gaze to his feet.

"Tea Boy's right. We've still got our jobs to do."

Tosh and Gwen were both nodding in agreement. After some awkwardness they settled around the boardroom table and three expectant faces turned to Ianto. He shrugged and then looked at his hands.

"Go on Ianto, say what you have to say." Gwen encouraged.

"Alright. I suggest that we all meet in here each day just for a little while so we can let each other know what's going on, we can take it in turns to have the remote alert.... I don't know. I'll go through Jack's office and make sure there's nothing outstanding we don't know about and I'll make the sure the payroll carries on as before. I'll deal with the phone calls, I was doing most of that anyway and I shall keep on with all the admin and be your fourth person in the field for the bigger operations....."

"And still make the coffee?" Owen put his hands together in the prayer position and pouted theatrically.

Ianto hitched a smile. "Yes, of course. What I'm saying is, Jack's absence shouldn't diminish us. There's trouble ahead, he's said himself often enough and we have a responsibility out there to everyone else to be ready."

"You don't think he's coming back do you?" Gwen searched his stormy eyes and saw only iron hard determination there.

"He told me that when he found his doctor, he would leave. Jack only stayed because he was waiting for him. But one thing I can tell you about the Doctor, where ever he goes trouble always follows. Everything feels wrong to me and I think Abbadon was just the start."

"You can't possibly know that." Owen groused.

"You're right, I don't for sure, but I trust my instincts. I know what I have to do. I'll run this place alone if I have to. I have a sister out there with two little kids how can I in good conscience turn my back on this? We're the first line of defence for anything that comes through that bloody Rift."

"We're not going anywhere Ianto, like you said we just have to sort ourselves out a bit and get this place running a bit more efficiently to cope with .... well, until Jack gets back." Gwen was determined that he would. Ianto didn't see the point in debating it. "We just need a bit of a routine or something."

"Well perhaps you and Ianto can sort that out, structure the days with set tasks that we can do when we're not out in the field, so we've got something to work at without all of us being run ragged at the same time." Tosh was starting to feel hopeful, though like Gwen she firmly believed that Jack would come back to them.

Owen just nodded his agreement.

"Good that's sorted then."

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Somehow, they made it work. It was hard and each of them had days where they felt like giving up, but the others would rally round and things would get done and Torchwood Cardiff moved on one alien at a time. Ianto had closed up the tourist office and moved his work space to Jack's office and eventually he took up residence in the under office den as the official night watchman. It suited him fine and enabled him to plough through most of the paperwork in peace. Gwen was always first to arrive in the morning taking up all the things Ianto had earmarked for her attention and then Owen and Tosh would roll in at nine and the day began, leaving Ianto to sleep between mid day and 6pm.

A month after Jack left Ianto picked up a very odd phone call from Jack's office phone.

"Hello, Ianto Jones speaking."

"Mr Jones? I need to speak to Jack Harkness, it's Helen from the hospital."

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Ianto buried the secret of Flat Holm Island as soon as he discovered it. He departed the island with assurances to Helen that he would continue Jack's work to support the staff and patients hidden there. He was vomiting furiously over the side of the boat on the way home and sat in Jack's office that night with a bottle of scotch and shaking hands, cursing Jack for yet more secrets and the abandonment of his responsibilities. The following day Owen had noted that something had clearly upset his younger colleague and when asked, Ianto had lied for the first time since Lisa.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Yes, the title DOES come from that wonderful movie 'Bladerunner'! This chapter was extrememly hard to write so I apologise if its crap!**

**PART TWO**

Toshiko entered the boardroom with a stack of charts in her hand. She sat in her customary place and took the cup of green tea that Ianto had waiting for her. The rest of the team were already gathered around the table waiting for Tosh to give her report. Owen happily chomping on a chocolate Hob Nob. Tosh was looking vaguely uncomfortable.

"We have a security problem." She took another sip of Tea. "I've been looking at the Archangel Network, more specifically the satellites and I've come to the conclusion that our mobile phone and com transmissions are being intercepted. I don't know why or who is listening, but I think it safe to say that anything we say over the coms... well you know what I am implying and I to was going suggest we switch over to our old system, and when I thought about this I decided to check the status of the Torchwood Satellites we have in orbit. They are functioning normally so far as I can gather, but the transmissions we are receiving from them are also being picked up by the Archangel Satellites. There's lots of weird shit in the telemetry that doesn't make a whole of sense."

Owen had put his biscuit down. "Is that as serious as it sounds?"

Ianto nodded. "If someone has gotten through our firewalls on the TW Satellite then all our communications are wide open. Do we know if any of the security measures we initially put in place have worked?

Tosh shrugged. "It's impossible to tell. Archangel is looking distinctly suspicious full stop."

"But everybody has got it, I mean even the other mobile phone companies rent the Archangel satellites, does that mean someone's listening to everyone?"

"The logistics of that would be.... It must be a key word thing; they have computers listening for specific sentences or words." Tosh replied. "MI5 have been doing it for years, so have we.... but on a much smaller scale."

"What if it isn't about listening in at all?" Ianto suggested.

"What are you thinking Tea Boy?"

Ianto glanced at Owen clearly worried. "It's like those 'ghosts' appearing all over the world, and the way people embraced them right before they all became Cybermen. If Archangel truly has global access to all the telecommunications, then maybe it isn't about listening in, but communicating something. What better way, most people in the first world have a mobile phone, those phones give off signals, amplifying what's coming off the satellites."

The following silence was somewhat uncomfortable but Tosh shoved forward a sheet of paper for them all to see.

"Ianto is quite right. There's a continuous broadcast from all of the satellites, a pulse that repeats of rapid beats. Our records indicate that it started the day the Archangel Network went on line."

"So how come we didn't spot it then?" Gwen wanted to know.

Tosh looked mildly affronted. "It's one in a million chance I found it all, you have no idea how much telemetry I've had to analyse."

Gwen nodded. "Sorry Tosh, I didn't mean it like that."

"So what do we do about it?" Owen demanded of no one in particular.

Ianto fidgeted with his hands. "We've got CB radios, we can use those, for any of our sensitive conversations but continue to use coms and mobiles so as not to arouse any undue interest and perhaps we need to make sure we reserve any such talk for around this table."

Everyone nodded. "Tosh and I can look into Archangel, see if we can find out what is exactly is behind all this." Gwen added, feeling a little better about having a plan. "Right was there anything else for today's meeting?"

"I was going to put together a sheet of simple code phrases that we can use on the coms and when we phone each other."

"Anything else?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Four days later Owen, Tosh and Gwen boarded an Air force Hercules at RAF Lyneham bound for Nepal.

When the sky split open raining down destruction on the world Ianto locked himself the Hub and watched the carnage through the CCTV networks until each of the feeds went down one by one. The lockdown would only last a few hours so he ran down to the locker rooms and changed into combats and walking boots, he grabbed rations, a back pack and sleeping bag from the supplies and then hared down to the armoury. He wasn't certain what he should take with him so opted for three hand guns and as much ammunition as he thought he could carry as well as a box of micro grenades. Finally he went to the autopsy bay for a field medical kit, morphine and antibiotics. He completely abandoned the idea of taking anything electrical with him apart from a flashlight, in case it could be traced. He took his supplies down to the deepest tunnels under the Hub that lead to the Torchwood underground and left them there. When he got back into the ops area he released Myfanwy through the access tunnel that opened out near Barry Docks and said a little prayer for her. The next 6 hours were spent laying charges all around the Hub. He needed to be certain that these Toclafane couldn't salvage anything useful. He worked grimly, humming to himself to steady his frayed nerves as explosive devices were placed all round the rift manipulator. The last thing he did before blowing the charges was retrieve his diary, a couple of biros and some photos of his teammates from his locker.

He sat in the blackened tunnel for a long time heaving in frightened shuddering breaths. Eventually he found the will to switch on the torch he had brought with him, and hoped to God that nothing on the surface would be sensitive enough to detect its presence. He had no idea what he was going to do.

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Rhys stared upwards unable to take in what he was looking at. Then the screams sank in and he realised that he had to run and as he ran he wondered where Gwen was and would she be safe, and why hadn't he heard from her in days? He felt a deep vibration ripple through the ground under his feet and then the sound of a massive explosion and turned just in time to see a plume of flame and smoke shoot up from somewhere near the bay. People around him were running and silvery balls chased them... and they were laughing.... laughing like children and Rhys found that more terrifying than anything. He kept going ducking low around a corner. A hand lunged out and dragged him in through a door way and into shelter and Rhys fell flat on his face before rolling quickly onto his back.

"What the fu.....! Andy?"

There he was gaping up into the wide eyes of the young police officer that his Gwen used to work with.

"Sssshhh and stay down." The man was peering out of a window for a moment before turning back to look down on the man he had just saved.

"Come on, this way."

Rhys followed without question, the world had quite clearly gone to shit.

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Rhys didn't think about the last few days of his life, it didn't pay to really and all he could do was be grateful that he was alive and still free. He couldn't get his head around the fact that everything had changed. Somehow he and Andy had evaded capture and death and Rhys knew he only had Andy to thank for that. The two of them had ended up in the sewers beneath Cardiff and discovered another half dozen or so people were already there hiding and shivering into the stinking darkness. Fear and shock had paralyzed them all.

It was there that he met one Ianto Jones of Torchwood3 and learnt of his wife's location somewhere near Nepal. Maybe she was safe, maybe this was only happening in England. The US would step in save the day in revenge for the death of President Winters. The look on Jones' face told him otherwise. Jones and Andy whispered amongst themselves at great length and this annoyed Rhys intensely but he let them do it, because he realised somewhat pathetically that his life might just depend on it. Jones' shared his food between the three of them, being careful not to let the others in hiding see. There wouldn't be enough otherwise and Jones didn't want to trust them, didn't want them to join him, he had plans and was going to get away. He and Andy had obviously agreed on something and Rhys could only hope that those plans included him.

He wasn't certain how long they had been hiding underground before Jones suggested that they separate from the rest of the people huddling in the dark. So they walked through dripping tunnels, trying not to gag on the stench. No one followed them and it was only when Jones was completely convinced that they were alone that he stopped and faced the two men trailing him in exhausted silence. It took Rhys a moment to register the fact that Jones was sorting through his precious back pack and pulling out two hand guns. He passed one to Andy and one to Rhys, who took the unfamiliar weight into a shaking hand.

"We need to go topside for food and water supplies and to try and assess what the hell is going on. Have either of you fired a weapon before?"

Rhys noted he wasn't the only one to shake his head. Ianto pulled out his own gun from under his hoodie. He demonstrated the safety clips and loading but did not fire the weapon.

"It's easy, there's not much kick. Just unclick the catch, point and squeeze. Don't waste the bullets and don't lose the gun, it's all we have until I get us to the depot under Stonehenge."

Andy, who was still in his uniform swapped his now useless radio for his weapon. Rhys tucked his into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. Ianto nodded at the two men.

"There's an entrance about a mile further along this tunnel, follow my lead and do exactly as I say."

The three men got back to walking.

"So, is there a plan?" Andy asked.

Ianto nodded. "Save the planet, one alien at a time, didn't you know that's what Torchwood does."

Andy and Rhys exchanged looks and smiled grimly at the strange young Welshman's back and for the first time in days the two of them thought that there just be some hope. Then Jones quashed it somewhat.

"There's creatures that live in the sewers called weevils, they're human shaped but with monstrous heads, you'll see them and when you do, don't hesitate to shoot and keep shooting until it drops, otherwise you'll be dead. With what's happened on the surface, they'll be more volatile than ever."

Neither Andy nor Rhys questioned him, right now, nothing was beyond the realms of possibility.


	3. Chapter 3

**PART THREE**

It was a case of remaining hidden with the occasional foray out into the world to find food. Initially the food issue wasn't too hard, there were a lot of abandoned shops and houses to loot. It soon became clear very early on that UNIT had taken the wrong side and troops were systematically emptying the buildings of all usable supplies and having them shipped off. The bodies were removed from the streets, the survivors were packed into trucks and lorry's and driven away. The three men watched in deepening silence as their world was taken apart piece by piece.

It became impossible to move in daylight and Ianto drove them underground as much as was possible as they moved their way out of Wales and across England trawling through sewers, drainage channels and any other tunnel they could fit through. The three men rarely spoke, they had nothing in common other than the fact that they were all Welsh and were all still alive. Occasionally they would cross paths with another person wandering what was now a wilderness of abandoned cars and houses. Ianto made sure absolutely no contact was made. No one could be trusted. If UNIT could collaborate then so could anyone else. It would be too easy to sell someone out for a half decent meal or a warm coat now that winter was on the way. In Ianto's experience humans could be just as bad as the aliens they were currently up against. He had wondered about that too. The Toclafane spoke in English, had 'human' voices and seemed to have humanlike personalities, how could a metal ball have that? They were nothing like the Cybermen or the Daleks. Jack had told him once just how far humanity had spread out there in the universe. He had also told him in no uncertain terms, to get to know ones enemies better than you know your friends.

Intel was almost non-existant and Ianto realised that once he got to the weapons depot and collected what he thought he would need...... well the hardest test was in front of him. Jack was gone, the Doctor held prisoner by all accounts and rumour had it that Saxon wasn't even human, no surprises there then really. There was nothing he could do about the metal balls, but Saxon was flesh and bone, like him, which meant he could be killed, human or not, and that was Ianto's only aim. What else was he supposed to do? Sit down and wait out the occupation or die, trying to put an end to it?

Ianto knew there was no choice for him, if there was even the slightest chance that his sister and her children were alive, he owed it to them to try and put a stop to this madness. It was his job, after all. He wasn't certain about the two men who followed him each day. Ianto had no idea what to do with them or how they could help him, but he was glad of their presence, reassuring footsteps that trudged along in his wake. He wondered what they were expecting of him. Neither one had challenged his plan to head East, but he hadn't told either of them about where exactly he was headed either. It puzzled him that they followed. Andy he could understand, the man was a police officer and perhaps held the belief that he could help in some way put an end to this, but Rhys? Perhaps he believed that Ianto would lead him to Gwen. Ianto was pretty sure that the woman was dead, that all of his colleagues were dead. The loss nagged at his gut because there was no way to know for sure what had happened to them and absolutely no way of finding out. On the first day of their trek he had handed Rhys a picture of his fiancé and told him to hold on to it, to hold on to her. It was the best he could offer. Rhys had accepted the underlying apology and stuffed the photo in his shirt pocket right over his heart. Ianto noticed things like that. He had a picture of his niece and nephew sat in a similar place, they were his family's only future because he knew he would never have children of his own, even if things hadn't gone to shit. Some part of him wondered whether or not he would've had anything with Jack, but of course Jack was gone, was always going to be. Ianto couldn't blame him, didn't blame him but it broke his heart non-the-less.

Days and nights slid by, the wind got colder and there was always the smell of acrid smoke drifting in the air. There didn't seem to be any birds flying about. One day they found a child, a toddler wondering along through a field all alone. Ianto had barely glanced, not even taking in what gender it was, but Rhys had halted their night time marching. He had bent down bringing himself level with the little girl.... yes a girl he confirmed. Ianto had fumed, there was nothing they could do for her, she could not come with them.

He and Rhys had stood in the mud and argued in hushed, hurried voices. Then Ianto had kept walking, turning his back on his own compassion. Rhys did not follow, he knew he had to make a choice and nothing in his conscience would allow him to walk away from the girl who had no one and only the prospect of a lonely death. He apologised to Ianto and Andy, they bade him farewell.

Ianto realised that part of him had died that night in that field and he couldn't quite work out which part. He tried not to think on it and was glad that Rhys had found purpose though he suspected it would only lead to an early grave.

Andy had not passed comment on Rhys' departure, he simply followed, his head down, his feet sore and his back aching from too many nights of trudging and too many days of broken sleep in uncomfortable surroundings. They avoided all buildings. Buildings meant silver spheres. They were always about, whizzing across the leaden sky, often singing with glee. All Andy craved was clean clothes, a shower and a shave and he found himself wondering if he stank as bad as his companion. He didn't dare ask. They moved on through each day and night, heading steadily East. Andy had no idea where they were and he totally trusted the Torchwood officer to get them where ever it was they were headed. He found himself somewhat surprised to be hiding in an abandoned Renault estate car on the A303 overlooking what was left of Stonehenge. He'd always wanted to see Stonehenge and now he could, but none of the stones were standing.


	4. Chapter 4

**PART FOUR**

Ianto slowly chewed his way through the last energy ration in his possession. He had become well used to the unpleasant taste and for once allowed himself the indulgence of longing for a decent cup of coffee. He and Andy remained huddled down in the car, taking it turns to nap through the damp, windy day. Andy was snoring happily on the back seat in the sleeping bag and Ianto had curled up in the boot under the blanket he had found there. It was still bitingly cold, but at least they were sheltered from the persistent drizzle and the chilling wind that drove it across Salisbury Plain. It was a bleak sight made all the worse by the collapsed monument. Ianto likened it to the passing of humanity into the history books and swore one day he'd come back here and make sure the stones were put back to how they should be.

He sat watching the road, the skies, but the weather was making it difficult to see far and now a heavy mist was starting to settle over everything like a shroud. Still he couldn't see any metal spheres, but in these conditions they wouldn't know about them until it was too late. He sighed and pulled out the print out of the Torchwood facilities guide from his pack. In theory he was probably the only person alive that knew about everything Torchwood. There was a possibility that Frobisher knew, but Ianto thought it unlikely. Yvonne Hartman was good at keeping secrets and Jack certainly didn't know about any of the extra depots including the location of the primary backup server. Ianto had made it his business to know about three weeks after he had started at Torchwood One, for once his own extreme paranoia had paid off.

There was an entrance through an electrical service tunnel disguised as a drain. They'd head there under cover of darkness. It was going to be a bitch to locate and in reality there was a good chance that...... Ianto stopped the thought before it could take hold. Failure was not an option. He took a glance at his watch decided to give Andy another hour of rest, by them it would be almost dark and they could get moving. Ianto suddenly noted the date, December 25th. He sighed and pulled out his diary.....

_Christmas Day... I thought after Lisa died that things couldn't get any worse. Now I count her among the lucky ones. The end of the world really is upon us. Jack often talked about the 21__st__ century changing everything and it has. He knew it was coming and he still ran. I don't blame him, he needed answers, but what confuses me is the fact that the Doctor is here on Earth, Jack must be here somewhere. Maybe he's in hiding trying to gather up a resistance army or something. Or maybe Saxon has him on the Valiant as well. Where the Doctor goes Jack is sure to follow, I know that much._

_I miss him, strange really because he confuses me. I miss Owen and Tosh and even Gwen, I hope they are safe, where ever it is they ended up._

_PC Davidson has followed me all this way without a single word of complaint. Maybe he thinks I can put this right, isn't that what Torchwood does? His faith in that is quite unnerving. Perhaps he just doesn't know what else to do._

_I expected to feel afraid, but I don't feel anything much at all these days. I wonder if I am becoming immune to the horror of our situation or perhaps I am still in shock and hoping for the 'it was all a dream' scenario. It feels like a bad episode of Star Trek, only I'm no Captain Picard. I was never cut out to be any kind of hero and I would gladly leave it to someone else. Now there are no choices. Maybe there is some resistance out there, but I've seen no evidence of it. That little girl that Rhys stayed behind for was the last person I saw. Out here there's no one, no troops even so the populace has been moved somewhere. I did see that a lot of the roads have been cleared of the abandoned cars, presumably for the scrap metal. Maybe they've just yet to clear this area. I wonder what they want the metal for, even if it is that. I've kept well clear of the larger towns and cities so I have no clue what is happening. Guess I'd better wake Andy and get moving. I hope there's some clean water and a bar of soap at the end of this. Entry Closes._

Andy awoke to a bottle of water being shaken under his nose and the sound of Ianto's hushed tones.

"Andy come on, time to wake up!"

Andy sat upright, not overly enthralled about getting out of the warmth of the sleeping bag. He grasped the proffered bottle of iodine tainted water and sighed before taking off the cap and gulping it quickly down. The taste with the added chemical was beyond vile, but it did stop them from getting ill. He rapidly chomped his way through the two ration bars that Ianto handed him and feeling a little more alert he grinned at his travelling companion.

"Are we all set then? Want to tell me why we've come sight seeing?"

Ianto hitched a smile, appreciating the attempt at light humour.

"There's an underground base here, but the entrance is hard to find especially without the aid of GPS. I know approximately where it is, but we can't risk being seen here, so we'll be searching with the torches on half power."

Andy frowned as he wriggled out of the sleeping bag and into the cold air. "Won't someone else have found it?"

"It's a risk, but it has to be taken. We need food and fresh water. I need to find out what the hell is going on out in the rest of the world, there's only one way I can do that. Then I have to figure out how to get on board the Valiant."

"You're really going to try then?"

Ianto nodded. "I have to try."

"Ok, then lets do it." Andy rolled up the sleeping bag into a tight bundle and Ianto stuffed it into the pack as he put his coat back on. Ianto watched his fellow countryman for a moment.

"You don't have to, you know. It's probably safer for you if you didn't."

Andy smiled. "I'm still a police officer, you think I am going to sit back and let those..... things..... stop me, anyway what else am I supposed to do? Retrace my steps and try to find Rhys? Stay here and hope everything is magically fixed or wait until I am found? I'm know I'm nothing glamorous like you special ops folk, but there's only of one of you and if I come along that means there's two, now how often do you get odds that double in your favour?"

Ianto shook his head. "When all this is over I am going to give you a job."

"When all this is over, I'm emigrating to Australia at least if the world ends over the there, the bloody weather'll be better."

Ianto gaped at him and then laughed.

"Right them Agent Andy, are you ready?"

"When you are......let's go kick some Alien arse!"

"By the way, Merry Christmas."

Andy froze, it was his turn to gape now. "And you." He replied sincerely.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry I didn't post yesterday.... my internet went down last night.... what do you call it? Gremlins?! Probably Weevils!**

**PART FIVE**

It took all night and well into the following day before they found the entrance into the tunnels. It rained heavily and they were both shivering and soaked by the time they crawled into the shelter of the underground access. It had clearly not seen use in a long time as it was clogged with weeds and debris, but at least they were out of the chilling wind. They huddled against the damp concrete interior with chattering teeth and empty stomachs. Andy had his hands jammed under his armpits inside his coat in an effort to warm them, he glanced at Ianto who sat opposite his eyes closed and head tipped back against the arch of the tunnel wall.

"How far is it?" He whispered.

"About 3 miles. It's a long way down. We'll have to use the ladders, I don't want to risk using the elevators in case..... well. I just don't want to risk it."

Andy nodded. "Come on then, lets keep moving, warm ourselves up a bit eh?"

Ianto sighed, but agreed with his cheery optimism, right now he doubted anything could warm him up. "Have your gun at the ready, if this place has already been breached...."

Andy understood. "There's other ways in?"

"Yes, there was a tunnel from Canary Wharf and another from Cardiff. I sealed the Cardiff tunnel when I destroyed our base, the one from Canary Wharf was destroyed a few years ago...... I hope."

"So there's a chance someone could be waiting for us?"

Ianto shrugged. "It's unlikely, but I wouldn't like to promise, in case I have to break it." He couldn't feel his feet, they so numb with cold. He sighed because he was too tall to stand upright as well, he made the decision to leave the pack close to the entrance. He pulled out a smaller bag containing the maps and his diary and the stash of ammunition clips and micro grenades. Andy watched him separate out the gear, realising if that if they needed to escape that this was likely going to be the only way out.

"Right then, let's do this."

They edged along in the dim light of Ianto's torch, set to it's lowest level Ianto pausing for a moment to cough. The torch gave off an eerie faint halo that only just about illuminated the ahead enough for them to see where they were putting their feet. It was slow and uncomfortable and both of them were stiff with cold, their feet squelching in soaked walking boots.

It stood out like a beacon in the black, a tiny red LED light that winked at them. It was the locking mechanism of the first security door with a swipe card reader and key pad attached. Ianto did the honours with his breath held. But the door clicked a release and swung open. Ianto gestured for Andy to wait as he stepped over the threshold into corridor that flickered and flared into brightness as the lights automatically came on. Ianto held his gun up in readiness and blinked against the blistering light, but the corridor was empty and smelt stale. Andy cautiously followed him and squinted in the brightness.

"Shall I close this?"

Ianto nodded, another cough escaped him and he had to suck in a slow breath to gather himself.

The door was shut with a faint hissing, sucking sound as the seals were reactivated. Andy felt his gut clench with worry but he kept his misgivings to himself. Ianto was already moving, faster now that they could stand upright and see where they were going. The corridor led to a vertical shaft with a ladder that went straight down. Andy realised this was not a good time to discuss his fear of heights and he gingerly climbed down a few rungs behind Ianto. Ianto easily descended and on reaching the bottom he waited for Andy, catching his ragged breaths and trying to not to feel the pervading chill that refused to leave him. It took Andy some moments to realise that the lights behind them had gone out, they'd climbed down almost 500m and he too was out of breath. Ianto caught the look of abject terror in the young PCs eyes.

"Don't worry, only one more of those to go." He said with a gentle pat to his shoulder.

Andy tried to think of something funny to say and failed miserably, he just nodded instead and glanced around him. They had emerged into a second grey corridor, as featureless as the first, but at the end of this one was a second security door. When they got to it Ianto had his left eye scanned and his palm print read and the door obligingly opened for them. Andy was impressed.

"That's four different security checks."

Ianto nodded making sure the door had closed behind them, "There's five in total. I have a chip in my skull, only level three and upwards have clearance here. I got a promotion three weeks before Canary Wharf was destroyed, hence my increased security clearance and the implant. Hurt like a bitch when they put it in."

"Isn't that all a bit paranoid?"

They walked along another corridor, exactly like the other two and then came to the final vertical shaft.

"There can't be too much security, some of the things we deal with Andy....."

Ianto began his descent.

"So, what exactly are you hoping to find here?"

Now that they were here, Ianto didn't see the point in not telling him.

"I'm hoping.... that the backup server is still operational. If it is I may be able to tap into network and find out what Saxon is doing. I also hope to get a picture of what's going on in general, find out where people are.... you never know maybe even make contact with others like us?" He was breath less already and had to pause to cough. His chest rattled painfully with the effort. Andy stopped just above him.

"You alright mate?"

Ianto nodded then kept moving. "Anyway in theory, there's food and water down here and we can get a shower and clean clothes."

"Wow, that sounds like heaven, but what's powering this place, I mean surely it's traceable?"

They continued on, Ianto much slower this time, one rung at a time. "The power source is not of Earth origin, and will probably last another couple of millennia and the whole complex is shielded with copious amounts of lead and other shit I don't know the name of. It should protect us. If it doesn't well, the only way to get at us is this way..... hopefully."

Ianto hit bottom and slumped exhausted to the floor, wheezing and coughing. Andy flopped down next to him panting and noting Ianto's flushed face.

"You ok?"

The younger man sighed. "Blasted cough." He rummaged in the bag and pulled out a bottle of penicillin tablets. After reading the label he unscrewed the cap and tipped out three bullet shaped pills.

"What's that?"

"Antibiotics."

Ianto shoved them in his mouth and screwed his face up as he swallowed them down.

A few minutes later they were back on their feet and facing what Ianto advised was the last security door. They stepped through into a small room, a square metal room with another door immediately opposite them. Andy looked at it rather reluctantly but Ianto offered up a small smile.

"Don't worry. You can close that one. Over there in that cabinet will be overalls, we need to change into them before we can proceed, the decom thing, I forgot about this.... sorry."

Andy closed the security door and immediately the light in the room brightened and speaker set somewhere above their heads cracked into life.

"Welcome Ianto Jones Torchwood number 83706 and guest. You will need to pass through UV and hydro decontamination, please remove all clothes and change into the overall provided."

Andy was gaping at the ceiling, fear gripping him.

"Andy, it's safe. It's automated. It's the computer." Ianto was already shedding his filthy garments. He pulled on a set of white papery overalls and retrieved his bag and gun. Andy followed his example.

An hour later and he was thanking every diety on the heavens for clean water and soap and the best bloody shave he could remember. Ianto watched him with amusement as he inspected his beard free face.

"I'd almost forgotten what I looked like."

Ianto forwent the shave and dried off finding Torchwood fatigues in one of the lockers and putting them on between another fit of coughing. Andy felt a bit stupid in 'battledress', but he was warm and dry at long last. The amusement finally over and Ianto had slung the bag back over his shoulder and gun in hand, he lead the way through to the ops room, the lights activating as they went. Andy's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw all the tech and watched as Ianto plonked himself at a terminal and switched it on.

"Andy, I know this sounds a bit bossy, but can you go and find the kitchen and......."

"Food yeah, good plan. Am I likely to get lost, how big is this place?"

Ianto pulled the map out of his bag. "It's through there, keep your gun handy, go slowly... hang on just me check the internal CCTV first."

Andy was beginning to feel a bit like a spare part as Ianto got work, but he was glad that he was here. They'd be safe here and have a chance maybe of doing something useful, though what he had no idea.

"We're clear looks like no one's been down here for almost eighteen months.... good."

They both heaved out sighs of relief. Ianto looked up at him. "Don't let your guard down, just in case." He passed the map to Andy. "The supply room should be well stocked, and there'll be food, powdered milk and the like, there's sleeping quarters for a half dozen people. Get us some food and then take some rest."

"Right, you?"

Ianto was looking back at the monitor in deep thought. "I'm going to try and link in to the server and see if I can get us some information." He replied through a yawn.

"Maybe you should get some rest first, have something to eat and drink and a sleep."

The meaning behind that suggestion was not lost on Ianto. "Do I look that bad?"

"Like shit mate. Come on, we're here now. Lets both have a decent meal then you can have a sleep first."

Ianto relented. "Ok." He was still chilly and guessed that was because he was exhausted, as he was certain Andy was too. He was just desperate to get to work.


	6. Chapter 6

**PART SIX**

The food was basic, but hot and Andy chugged down rather a lot of it, content to put up with his protesting stomach because the novelty of eating was just too good. Ianto leaned over his bowel and picked at the contents, tinned beans and sausages with defrosted cornbread. It wasn't ideal and normally he would've eaten it quite happily, but he simply had no appetite. He drank down the bottle of water and the mug of what was supposed to be coffee and swallowed another couple of antibiotic tablets at the same time. The exhaustion hit him like a sledge hammer and he sat there in the metal chair his chin dropping to his chest. He jerked upright and sighed.

"I'm going to put the facility into lockdown."

Andy looked up at the sudden announcement. "What does that mean?"

"It means no one gets in and no one gets out until I release it. That way we can both rest in relative safety. I'll activate all the perimetre alerts anyway." Ianto rose unsteadily to his feet and wandered back to the control room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Andy didn't know what to do. He awoke to the sounds of coughing and discovered Ianto huddled on his bunk shivering and burning with a sweaty fever. He shook his companion into wakefulness and Ianto looked up at through glazed, bloodshot eyes and resumed his hacking. Panicked, Andy leapt to his feet.

"I'll get you some water."

Ianto could only nod in response as he struggled to sit up. A moment later and Andy had returned, a cheery smile on his face.

"Well I won't need an alarm if you do that every morning."

Ianto took the water and drank it down. "Thanks. Can you help me up, I need to get to the computer."

Ianto searched through the database until he found his own medical records and scanned what Owen had noted on his treatment charts and thanked God that the medic had kept his paperwork up to date. Andy was watching him intently standing close by almost waiting to catch him when he fell over. Ianto was grateful, but didn't say as much.

"There's a small med bay...... I've had this illness before. This is what Owen did last time, just need to follow his chart." He explained.

Andy nodded eager to get him well, he wasn't certain he could cope with being down in this base all alone.

"Right then, what do I need to do?"

Ianto's hands weren't steady enough to get a needle into his own vein, so Andy after six attempts finally got one in. Ianto had winced and coughed throughout, but no uttered a word of complaint, the PC had never had to do anything like it before and Ianto was just glad he was there to help. Within minutes a bag of saline was flowing into his blood with a large dose of powerful antibiotics. Shortly after and Ianto was back to sleeping, leaving Andy the task of topping up the meds every six hours if didn't wake up. Andy contented himself with doing a full inventory on the food and drinks supplies, eating a few snacks on the way, not much chance of running out in a hurry and then settled himself into the task of snooping around the base.

He was feeling a lot better and considerably safer than he had done since this nightmare began. He briefly thought of Rhys and half wondered if the man and the little he had stayed behind for were still alive. He was one of life's positive thinkers and Andy always saw the bright side of a bad situation, but he was struggling to see it now. The world would never be the same, he'd never get that date with Linda, or convince Gwen to leave Rhys and go out with him. He wouldn't see his...... Andy really didn't want to think. A wave of desolation crashed down on him. Were they really all gone, his mum and dad? His spotty little sister? This couldn't really be the end of everything could it? And why the hell was he here? Why hadn't he stayed in Cardiff and tried to find his family? Shouldn't he be looking out for them? He ran his hands through his hair and sniffled and sniffed back a sob. Maybe Ianto had a plan... maybe there was something here they could use against Saxon and those.... things. Maybe. For the first time in his life Andy doubted it very much.

Andy spent the next two days feeding Ianto tomato soup and medication and Ianto hadn't the heart to tell his carer that he couldn't stand tomatoes in any shape or form. It didn't matter, he was recovering and by day three was actually feeling hungry enough to eat and stable enough to get on his feet and use the bathroom. The time passed in a bit of a haze and Andy found himself becoming bored without a TV or radio to at least break the silence. Ianto wasn't especially talkative because mostly that resulted in him coughing.

The morning of day four found Ianto at the computer terminal once again, looking brighter and healthier than he had in weeks. He greeted Andy with a cheerful grin and gestured for him to sit down.

"There's a lot to go over, so I am going to tell what I think is going on and we are going to decide what we are going to do about it."

Andy smiled. "So, you think we can do something?"

Ianto shrugged. "I know we have to try. I've been going through some of the data we collected, before all this kicked off. Tosh my colleague was looking into the Archangel Network. It was shortly after that that my team got sent out to Nepal by the Prime Minister's office. I'm pretty sure the two are connected. Saxon was by far the largest of the investors in the project and he supposedly over saw the design of the Satellites. The Satellites are in orbit, enough of them to cover the entire planet. He controls all the mobile phone and internet services......." He paused for a minute. "Shit.... oh shit. I was right."

Andy frowned. "Right about what?"

"It's obvious, I mean it has to be. How do you think Saxon won such an easy election victory.... I mean practically everyone voted for him. When those Toclafane things came there was virtually no resistance."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Ianto turned his attention back to the computer. "Mass hypnotism. We knew the satellites were broadcasting a repeating signal, Tosh figured that out. It makes sense, no one can escape the transmissions. I wonder if he's using some tech he's got stashed on the Valiant, adding some sub conscious message or something."

"Ok, right, supposing that's true, what for? I mean what is he planning on doing? It can't just be about world domination, surely? I mean that's a bit over the top isn't it?"

Ianto was forced to agree. "I don't know. According to these logs he's been sending out public broadcasts."

"How?" Andy gestured to the computer.

"It scans the airwaves automatically. Since all the TV and Radio networks went down it's been doing it continually and logging any transmissions. That's its job, or part of it..... in the event of a holocaust. This place was originally built as a bomb shelter during the cold war, obviously it's bit more sophisticated than that. Hang on." Ianto moved from his seat and gestured for Andy to take it. "You keep watching that. I'll get on the other terminal and start a search for other signals, see if anyone friendly is out there."

Two hours later they sat and watched a live feed as the Islands of Japan boiled away into the sea. Saxon's voice merrily narrating over the broadcast.

"And let that be a warning to you all. Anyone helping Miss Martha Jones had better beware and now boys and girls it's time for the freakshow."

Ianto almost fell off his seat when the face of a very battered Captain Harkness appeared on the screen. He watched in abject horror as Harold Saxon proceeded to remove his vital organs with what looked distinctly looked like a Swiss Army knife, a gleeful expression on his face. Andy had turned away from the screen well before Jack had slumped against his restraints in death. Ianto watched the entire thing, biting into his lower lip as Jack flatly refused to make a sound for Saxon's benefit. The transmission ended. Ianto sat there, numb with shock. It was sometime before he had recovered himself enough to speak.

"I have to get on board the Valiant."

Andy gaped at him. "Are you mad?"

Ianto flinched at his outburst, but turned to him with a smile. "Right Royally pissed would be a better description."

"But how the hell are you going to get up there?"

Ianto was forced to admit that he had no idea.

"Did he really just blow up Japan?" Andy's words took a moment to sink in.

"Why would he lie? And the who the hell is Martha Jones?"


	7. Chapter 7

**PART SEVEN**

For more than a week Ianto and Andy took it in turns to listen out for transmissions from anyone other 'The Master' or UNIT. Ianto was unsurprised that most of the UNIT devisions were under Saxon's control, he couldn't blame them, couldn't blame anyone collaborating when the alternative was to be cut apart by those flying balls of death. The Master televised his 'Freak show' once a day, every day at what would have once been lunch time. Each broadcast featured the same thing, a new way to kill Jack Harkness. Andy couldn't stomach it and Ianto made sure the former Police Officer was in the other room making up something to eat when the show came on. Ianto took in every detail, tried to lock Jack's defeated gaze with his own and will him not to give up. On the seventh day Ianto would've sworn that Jack stared straight down the camera lens right at him, it made his gut hurt, but Ianto watched anyway as his former boss, friend and lover was doused in something and set alight. Ianto only closed his eyes after the transmission ended and water leaked from under his eyelids.

A search on the computer database revealed little information on Martha Jones, other than the fact that she was considered Public Enemy number one and a large bounty was on her head. Ianto thought she looked pretty in the picture and he was painfully reminded of Lisa.

The days slid by punctuated by the Freak Show and their abortive attempts to find out what was actually happening out there in the rest of the world. Ianto dare not risk tapping into the satellite network in case they tracked, so there was only one thing for it.

"There's a UNIT base about 40 miles South East of here." He commented seemingly at Random.

Andy was chewing on his sausage and hurriedly swallowed before speaking.

"What did you have in mind?"

"We need some reliable intel. The only way to get it is to go there with some scanning equipment."

Andy appeared to think about it. "That's what, four, five days?"

Ianto nodded.

"Right then, show me how that stuff works and I'll go and do it."

"What?"

"You heard. It makes sense, sure you must have some radios or something with secure frequencies, I can tell you what I see at the same time. It makes sense."

Ianto was shaking his head. "We can't risk it. I've no idea if those Tocalafane things can be fooled by the scramblers and if this place is discovered we really do have nowhere to hide. No, I'll go. I'm trained for this sort of thing."

"And you're still recovering from that cough thing. It's freezing out there, probably snowing again. I'm faster on my feet than you are and I've been sneaking around the English countryside just fine, since that lot arrived. I'm going stir crazy in here and quite frankly you're more valuable than I am."

Ianto gaped at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Well it's bloody obvi........"

The perimeter alarms bleeped into life and Ianto swung in his chair and tapped at the computer keys to check the CCTV. He stared at the monitor in shock at what he saw.

"What is it?" Andy leaned over his shoulder to get a better look. Two people were making their hunched way along the tunnel entrance from under the A303.

Ianto smiled to himself and nearly cried with joy. "It's Owen and Tosh!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Toshiko got the fright of her life when the final security door opened and Ianto practically flew forward and gathered her up in an embrace and swung her round. Owen had dropped his bag and drawn his gun in that moment before realising who was there to greet them.

"Bloody Hell, Tea Boy I nearly shot you!"

Tosh was put down and then Owen squeezed his eyes shut as he too was bodily lifted off the floor and into a bone crunching hug. Owen couldn't help but smile and yelp at the same time.

"Oi put me down!"

Ianto finally complied and stepped back to survey his bedraggled colleagues. He was grinning stupidly.

"You stink, but it's wonderful to see you both. I can't tell you how brilliant it is."

Tosh and Owen were just gaping at him and both of them were about to start on a barrage of questions when Ianto raised his hands.

"Go get cleaned up, Andy and I will sort out dinner and then you can both rest up before we start with the talking."

"Sounds wonderful, the whole base is intact?" Tosh was amazed.

Ianto nodded.

"Who else is here? Did Jack come back?"

The smile fell away as Ianto shook his head. "Jack's on board the Valiant. Look I'll explain everything that I know, go on, you both look like you need a decent meal and some sleep."

Owen wasn't about to argue and he was eternally that Tosh had convinced him to come here.

"It is safe, isn't it?"

Ianto shrugged. "We've been here a few weeks and no one apart from you two has come knocking, but I've kept everything in lock down mode until I saw you on the security feed. I thought I was the only one that knew about this place."

Tosh wiped her hand across her dirty face. "Can you show me that shower please?"

"This way."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ianto put the complex back into lockdown. After long showers and a hot meal it wasn't long before Owen and Tosh were tucked up in the bunks in the cramped sleeping quarters, sound asleep. Ianto kept going in there to check that they were in fact there, trying to quell the notion that he was trapped in some dream he was about to wake up from. Both his and Andy's spirits had been lifted considerably. They sat together in the small ops room talking and smiling for the first time in days.

It was late into the next day before the four of them gathered round the small metal table with mugs of processed coffee and a plate of digestive biscuits.

Ianto decided to kick start the questions he had been bursting to ask.

"What happened to you guys, how the hell did you get back from Nepal?"

Owen grabbed another biscuit and chomped it down as Tosh recited their tale.

"The plane never got off the ground. As soon as we got to RAF Lyneham we were bundled into a van and driven away by a Lance Corperal Ross Bennet. He took us to London, the MI5 building. It was all very hush hush, they took our gear, our phones, everything. When we got there we met with Lethbridge Stewart and some Army general and another two men from MI5. They told us the whole Asia thing was a hoax. Apparently the plane left without us on board and it was shot down over the channel by a UNIT fighter jet. Anyway they told us that they thought Saxon wasn't the real deal and showed us all this stuff they'd monitoring from the Archangel Network. Of course that's when everything went to hell. We managed to escape, but Gwen and Lethbridge-Stewart both died. We made the decision to separate from the others and come here. To be honest I wasn't certain we could trust them. So after much messing about to make sure we weren't followed.... well that's pretty much it."

"What's been going on though, what is Saxon doing?"

Owen and Tosh exchanged sour looks. "He's building missiles, thousands of them." Tosh answered.

Ianto frowned and Andy finished his coffee and beat him to the question he was about to ask.

"He's already taken over the world, what the hell does he need missiles for?"

"Maybe he used up his fire power burning Japan." Ianto replied without thinking.

"What?"

Ianto rolled his eyes and cursed himself. "Shit, Tosh I'm sorry.... you don't know. He destroyed Japan, all of it. Every island is gone."

Tosh's hand went to her mouth and Owen slid his arm over her shoulder.

"Please tell me that was your idea of a sick joke?"

Ianto shook his head.

"Saxon broadcast it live. He's after someone called Martha Jones, that's why he did it, as a warning to anyone helping her."

Owen baulked. "He destroyed an entire country over one person?"

Andy and Ianto nodded.

"Yeah, looks that way."

"So what makes her so bloody special?" Owen demanded.

"We haven't a clue, we were hoping you might have heard something." Andy replied gathering up the mugs. "Refill anyone?"

No one said yes.

Ianto sat there deep in thought. "She really must be a threat, he wouldn't have done that otherwise. He's insane but he's no fool."

"What makes you say that?" Tosh asked between sniffles.

"I had to deal with him almost daily on the phone and I met him a number of times, he was very astute, certainly knew a lot about Torchwood, his office most certainly took the time to read the monthly reports that we sent him. He's a clever man, charismatic even. Jack loved him but for the fact he was a politician. I know we're missing something. So what else did you learn?"

Owen arched his eyebrows. "Learn?"

"Anything Owen, Andy and I have had no new information for weeks."

Owen and Tosh exchanged looks. "Why what are thinking?"

Ianto sighed. "I'm not sure. I know Saxon is holding the Doctor and Jack prisoner......"  
"THE Doctor, the one Jack ran off with?"

Ianto nodded. "Yes, that one. It seems he and Saxon have had dealings in the past."

Owen snorted in disgust. "Just fucking great, two men in a pissing contest...... what's it got to do with Jack?"

"I doubt if it has anything to do with him, Jack seems to be have caught up in events the same as we have. Anyway Jack is not my concern, Saxon is."

Tosh straightened herself and glared at Ianto.

"What do you mean Jack is not my concern?"

Ianto faced her with a stony expression. "He ran out on us. Quite frankly with his inability to die his problems are the least of our worries, millions have already died...."

"But he's......"

"Abandoned us, just like he told me he would. I don't blame him Tosh, we betrayed him, Jack isn't what we should be thinking about. If we are to stop this madness we have to kill Saxon."

"What and you think those things will just fly away and forget about all about us?" Owen shot back with no small degree of venom.

Ianto shook his head. "Don't be ass Owen. It might weaken their resolve."

"Or make them more dangerous than they already are."

The three of them sat glowering at one another before sinking into silence for a moment.

Then Ianto finally hitched a smile. "I am so glad to see you both. You best come and see this. It's about time for Saxon's daily broadcast, maybe then you'll see why I want to take him down." He got up and switched on the terminal closest to Owen.

Andy remained in the kitchen, not wanting to watch Captain Harkness die yet another terrible death.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: This is proving to be much harder than I thought it would be to write... so if all goes completely off the rails you can blame the small green bunny from Alpha Centuri...... and my severe Post Ianto Stress Disorder! or P.I.S.D.**

**PART EIGHT**

The 'Freakshow' left Owen and Tosh sitting in shocked silence. Tosh had tears rolling over her cheeks which she angrily wiped away. She was probably closer to Jack than any of them, had certainly known him the longest. After what felt like hours she finally turned to Ianto.

"If I get you on board the Valiant, do you really think you can take Saxon out?"

Ianto nodded. "It's Saxon or me."

Owen sighed. "Yeah, but nothing stupid Tea Boy, you go up there and you have to have a plan, probably some inside help or be incredibly lucky. So what is your plan?"

Ianto smiled. "There's only one way to guarantee me getting up there. I either surrender, or go up there in a UNIT uniform."

"Surrendering will just get you killed." Tosh objected.

Ianto shook his head. "I don't think so. Remember I know Saxon. It may work in my favour, especially if I can give him information about Martha Jones."

"But you don't have any information!"

Ianto grinned. "Saxon doesn't know that." He looked from Owen to Tosh and then to Andy who had come into the room with a tray of coffees. Owen was shaking his head.

"How are you going to get Jack out?"

Ianto shrugged. "Like I said, Saxon has to be the priority and I know Jack would agree with that."

"You can't just leave him there like that!" Tosh shrieked.

"I can, Tosh. I have to. This can't be about rescuing Jack. If I can get him out then that's a bonus, but what if I can gain Saxon's trust find out what is going on and...... don't look at me like that. You think I like seeing him like that?"

"No.. no Ianto of course we don't." Owen replied getting to his feet. "But he did leave you, effectively for another man."

Ianto gaped. "That implies that we were together Owen, and we weren't. Look, Jack saved me, after Lisa he forgave me and he saved my sorry arse and I do care Owen. But quite frankly saving this planet is just a little more important right now."

Andy who had hung back until then nodded in agreement. "He's right. Captain Harkness obviously doesn't die, the rest of us do."

Toshiko threw him a filthy look. "And going through torture everyday is supposed to be better than not being able to die?"

"No, but...."

"Tosh, if I can get to Jack, I will, you know I will." A different plan already formulating in Ianto's mind.

The four of them continued to argue throughout the afternoon and eventually Ianto left them to it and went to take a nap, he already knew what he was going to do.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was a message flashing on the monitor the following morning.

_Owen, Tosh, Andy_

_First things first, put the base back into lockdown as soon as you read this. I will be clear of the security doors by the time you all wake up. I will communicate when I can, but DO NOT come looking for me. If I can free Jack, I promise I will try. Stay put, keep safe and wait for me to contact you. There must be a resistance out there somewhere and when you finally find it you will need an ops base. You should be able to hold out for a good long while there so don't take any stupid risks..... whatever you see or hear.... remember I AM ON YOUR SIDE._

_Ianto Jones._

"Shit." Was all Owen had to say on the matter.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ianto stood feeling his gut tighten with fear as he was left standing next to a highly polished conference table. The UNIT soldiers walked out of the expansive room and Ianto remained motionless waiting for Harold Saxon to turn and face him. In truth he had expected to be dead by this point, but the Toclafane had apparently been instructed not to kill anyone from Torchwood. Maybe Saxon HAD remembered him and taken pity, or decided he would be useful, or more likely entertaining. Ianto didn't much care, so long as he stayed alive. Step one had been achieved, he'd made it this far. He took the opportunity to flit his gaze around the room and frowned briefly at the sight of a tent and a pile of straw in the corner, next to which sat an empty wheel chair.

"Well, well. Mr Ianto Jones, what a lovely surprise."

Ianto lifted his gaze and met cold eyes boring into his very soul. "I never expected to see you again. You should be dead by now, or didn't you fancy that free ride to Nepal?"

"I get air sick, sir."

Saxon froze, hands shoved into his pockets a deep, threatening frown on his face. Ianto held his look, fully expecting to be dead any moment now. Suddenly Saxon was laughing. It was more of an amused cackle and Ianto kept his expression as neutral as possible.

"I always did like you Jones. Care to explain why you surrendered, when you've managed to hide yourself so successfully over the last four months?"

Ianto decided to play the only card he had, a lie buried in the truth.

"I want to see Jack Harkness, sir. You see you're holding him and he and I have unfinished business between us."

Saxon walked around him, weighing him up and Ianto could feel his eyes burning at his back.

"Go on."

"Jack left me, he ran off with the Doctor and he left me. We were lovers."

Saxon peered into his face and it took every ounce of Ianto's will not to flinch. A smile alighted and stepping back Saxon clapped his hands with glee.

"So you're the jilted lover. Well you won't get revenge, you know he's a freak and he's my entertainment. So what am I supposed to do with you?"

"I make good coffee, sir. Probably the best. I sometimes think it's the only reason Jack kept me on, aside from my other uses. I want to work for you, you know what my skills are, I think I can be useful to you and lets face it there's nothing to keep me planetside any longer."

"Like what I've done with it do you?"

"It's a thing of beauty, sir. Really most exquisite."

Saxon clearly wasn't convinced and Ianto noted him fiddling with something in his pocket.

"It's such a pure vision, cleansing the world and then well the universe is your playground, you do realise that there is a spacial Rift running through Cardiff... of course you do. All that power needs someone with experience to help take away the more tedious tasks whilst you get on with what needs to be done, sir." Ianto realised just how thin the wire he was walking really was. "Ask Jack, he'll tell you how efficient I can be and it would really piss him off if he found out I was working for you. I'd go so far as to say it would hurt his feelings. Jack likes to think that we're all loyal to the end you see." He could see the thought processes running through Saxon's head, the little tell tale twitch of his lips as he considered Ianto's words.

"I think a little test is in order don't you?"

Ianto nodded having a sneaking suspicion that he knew what was coming. He smiled.

"Naturally."

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Owen and Tosh were seated in front of the monitor awaiting Saxon's broadcast. Once again Andy had vacated the room, not understanding why anyone would want to sit there and watch someone die. It disgusted him, the whole macabre fascination. It must be because it was Jack, their leader and friend, maybe they thought they were helping him in some weird remote way.

Tosh clutched at her mug of cooling coffee in abject horror when she watched Ianto Jones shoot Jack through the side of the head. Owen couldn't believe his eyes and vowed very loudly to dismember his colleague the next time he saw him.

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Ianto stood under the hot shower jet and cried as quietly as he could, he knew they'd be watching his every move, but in here at least his tears would be lost so long as he didn't make a sound. He hoped one day that Jack would find it in his heart to forgive him.


	9. Chapter 9

**PART NINE**

The first message came through about four weeks after Ianto left. Andy was sitting through the night watch scanning the airwaves listening for any signs of life and resistance. There had been a series of random radio transmissions obviously in code, but so far none of them had made much sense. At three am Tosh's computer beeped and a series of texts started scrolling rapidly over her screen. Andy blinked at it, the words were gibberish, but he went and woke Tosh up anyway and rubbing sleep from her eyes she plonked herself and began analysing whatever it was. It took her almost a week to figure it out and when she did she squealed with joy as the translation program she had designed finally figured it out.

_my Japanese girl stop one woman walks the world and carries a message she must be given an honour guard to save the shire from the orc stop if she fails sauron will rule and mordor will expand its borders stop our Aragorn lives and the battle is not yet over stop listen for the elves singing a sound we cannot hear green bottles and the wheels on a bus stop god speed pteranadon stop_

"What the fuck does that mean?" Owen demanded.

Toshiko was grinning. "It's a message from Ianto, the original is in morse code except he's used the words dot and dash rather than the symbols. ingenius really, I can't imagine anyone being able to translate that easily."

"That fucking treacherous git, he shot Jack!" Owen spat out. Tosh sighed.

"I know, but maybe he had to, to prove himself worthy of Saxon's trust. Perhaps it was the easiest way for him to die. Imagine how Ianto must feel about it."

Owen was not happy and not entirely convinced. "So the message."

"Thats easy. I'm the Japanese girl, obviously. The woman, I have a feeling that could be this Martha Jones that we keep hearing about on the radio channels, so she obviously needs protection and is on her way to England....."

"Why England?" Owen was frowning.

"That's easy, England has Shires, it's from the 'Lord Of The Rings'." Andy replied helpfully.

Owen rolled his eyes. "Right, go on Tosh."

"We can assume that orcs refer to the Toclafane and UNIT. Aragorn could be either the Doctor or Jack and I think the Elvish song is radio waves."

"So what about the green bottles and bus wheels?"

Tosh shook her head and sighed. "No clue."

Owen sank back in his seat. Andy was shaking his head. "You two are pretty dim for a special ops lot. Ten green bottles and how many wheels are there on a bus.....I bet it's the frequency number you need."

Owen and Tosh gaped at the Welshman who was looking rather too smug.

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Ianto curled into a ball on his bed and sighed. It had taken a good deal of effort to convince Saxon that he could be trusted. Unfortunately for him that also meant a weekly visit to Jack's cell. Saxon was fond of having an audience and Ianto had no choice but to watch as more inventive ways to..... Ianto couldn't allow himself to think about it. It was hard enough watching Jack suffer needlessly and even harder seeing him decline that little bit more on every visit. Each death becoming harder than the last one to crawl back from. His last resurrection had taken three and a half days and Saxon had begun to get very frustrated with his toy who was fast losing his amusement value. Ianto had quietly wondered if Jack somehow were able to hold himself in that in between place to minimise his own suffering, but somehow he doubted that Jack would have that much luck. Jack was so weak now, he barely recognised anyone who came into his cell. Part of Ianto was grateful for that much. Saxon however, was volatile and unpredictable and that had only been made worse by the somewhat useless escape attempt. Jack had had bleach poured down his throat for that one.

Ianto had tried to remain detached from the rebellious Jones family. They hated him, thinking that he was another of Saxon's skivvy's but Ianto ensured, unbeknown to them; that they got fed and watered and he took over the task of feeding Jack when Tish Jones had been handcuffed in her cage with her parents. Ianto never spoke to Jack. It was too risky, but he slipped painkillers and sweet flavourings into his food as often as he could, just to give him some small relief. Jack simply gazed back into his eyes with such venom and hatred that Ianto felt sick with it. Part of him hoped that those looks were deliberate, an attempt to keep Ianto safe from discovery, it was probably too much of a hope.

Lucy Saxon became more deranged as time slid by and Ianto soon found himself being made responsible for making sure she didn't keep wondering off, that often led him back to the conference room and the Doctor in the bird cage. Ianto hated and pitied the man in the same breath. The Master had made him make a miniature suit for him. Ianto just did as he was told. He kept his ears to the ground and when he could he sent coded messages hoping that Tosh was receiving them and more importantly understanding them. He encouraged the rumour of a special weapon he had heard whispers of, he sent out false trails as to Martha Jones' whereabouts and he let Tosh know exactly where the Toclafane were concentrating their efforts on anything that may be considered significant. He had no idea if it was having any effect. He also realised that he didn't stand a chance of killing Saxon, the man was a Time Lord like the Doctor and could regenerate. He was also extremely well protected.

Days crawled by, slowly one merging into the next and Ianto did his best not be complacent. He was living on his nerves on a constant basis trying desperately to stay one step ahead of Saxon's mood swings and violent behaviour. Jack always suffered the brunt of it and one day Ianto could stand it no more. He had to do something. He stood there in Jack's cell quietly coaxing him into eating the dish of whatever it was and as he did so he whispered quietly in Welsh, hoping Jack would understand. Finally there was news to tell, a tale of one Martha Jones stalking the Earth with a powerful weapon a weapon to destroy the Master and end his misery and behind her came blazing hope for a new beginning. Mid way through his whispered mumblings Jack's eyes had locked with his and the faintest of smiles graces his pale lean face. It took every ounce of his will not to drop the bowl and hug him or better still break the chains holding him upright. All Ianto could do was smile back, making certain his back was facing the CCTV camera. For the first time in weeks Ianto began to hope.

The resistance uprising came and was rapidly crushed. There had been four co-ordinated upsurges of what Saxon dubbed desperate acts of terrorism. The casualty lists were long, three names stood out through the tears in Ianto's eyes.

Toshiko Sato, Andy Davidson and Owen Harper.

That night Ianto stuffed a flannel in his mouth to suppress his sobs and the following day he went to Jack's cell to inform him that the rest of his team mates were dead. He had wanted to be the one to break the news so that at least Jack would see the pain in his own eyes as he told him. It was only later that day that Ianto found himself standing in front of Saxon, his hands clasped in front of him, that he realised how badly he had underestimated his enemy.

"I want to thank you Ianto. You're dedication to the cause and absolute trust in me or maybe you're just plain thick. Every piece of intelligence you sent down to your pathetic little friends in that underground hovel. It was all me!"

Saxon was gleefully prancing about in front of the bird cage and Ianto caught the pitying look being sent his way by the Doctor.

Ianto swallowed, but otherwise gave no outward reaction to show how frightened he really was.

"I think seeing as how you've been so helpful. I'm going to let you live.... Guilts is a wonderful thing, better than any punishment I could dish out." He turned to his UNIT escort. "Lock him up in isolation, put Tish back on feeding duty."

Ianto allowed himself to be led away, his hope died, there was nothing left now. He later discovered from a boasting guard that Jack had howled his grief for days after he was told that Ianto was dead.

**AN: Season two to follow...........**


End file.
